Frankfurt am Main is famous for its skyscrapers, which house European financial institutions’ headquarters, while its old town radiates medieval atmosphere.
Located in the state of Hesse of Germany, it is known worldwide as the country’s financial center. Frankfurt, situated in the heart of the Rhine region, is also the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, giving the city special literary significance alongside its cultural richness, museums, and musical traditions.
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Frankfurt attractions
Römerberg Square
The historic center is the city’s most photographed and best-known location.
Medieval-atmosphere reconstructed half-timbered houses line the square, which were rebuilt after World War II based on original plans. The square’s name has been in use since the 15th century, when Roman emperor coronation ceremonies were held here.
The area is covered with hexagonal paving stones, with the historic Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) standing in the center, inaugurated in 1543. The statue of Justitia on top of the fountain is a symbol of Frankfurt’s free imperial city status. Among the buildings surrounding the square is the famous Zur Goldenen Waage house, one of the most beautiful half-timbered structures.
For centuries, it served as a venue for markets and celebrations, and today the world-famous Frankfurt Christmas market is held here at Christmas time. The square’s atmosphere becomes particularly magical in the evening, when the illumination of historic buildings creates a romantic mood.
Römer City Hall
It has served as Frankfurt’s historic city hall for more than 600 years and is the most imposing building on Römerberg Square.
The building complex was originally three medieval merchant houses, which the city purchased in 1405 to serve as city hall. The characteristic stepped facade and three towers are an outstanding example of Frankfurt architecture.
The building’s most famous room is the Kaisersaal (Imperial Hall), where a total of 10 Roman emperors and 42 German kings held coronation banquets between 1612 and 1792. The hall’s walls are decorated with portraits of 52 German emperors and kings, 19 of which are original paintings. Today, the hall still hosts representative events and can be visited by tourists.
The Römer’s specialty is its iconic balcony, from which the German national football team and Eintracht Frankfurt players celebrated their victories. The building’s ground floor houses the wedding hall, where civil marriages still take place today, while the basement contains remains of medieval wine cellars.
Frankfurt Cathedral (Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus)
Frankfurt’s most significant religious building was built in Gothic style in the 14th-15th centuries.
Although it was never a bishop’s cathedral, it is still called a cathedral because Roman-German kings were elected here between 1356 and 1792, and 10 emperor coronations were held within it. The building’s 95-meter tower was the city’s highest point for centuries.
Construction of the cathedral began around 1250, but it only achieved its current form in the 15th century. Inside the church is the famous Marienschnitzaltar (Mary Altar) from 1434, as well as Hans Backoffen’s masterpiece, the Kreuztragung relief from 1509.
The church was severely damaged during World War II, but reconstruction successfully restored its original beauty. The staircase leading to the cathedral tower has 328 steps, and from the top, there is an unparalleled panorama of the city and the Main River.
St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche)
One of Frankfurt’s most important historic buildings, known worldwide as the cradle of German democracy.
The classicist church built between 1789 and 1833 is unique in German church architecture with its circular floor plan and dome. The building’s most important historical moment was 1848-49, when the first freely elected German parliament, the Frankfurt National Assembly, convened here.
The church no longer serves religious purposes but has been converted into a national memorial site. Inside, an exhibition presents the development of German democratic traditions and the events of the 1848 revolution. The walls are decorated with frescoes and memorial plaques depicting the history of German unity and freedom. The building’s specialty is the circular interior space, which provided ideal acoustic conditions for the sitting parliament.
Old Opera (Alte Oper)
Frankfurt’s most elegant cultural building, which opened in 1880 modeled after Berlin’s Staatsoper.
The opera house built in Italian Renaissance style bears the inscription „Dem Wahren, Schönen, Guten” (To the True, Beautiful, Good) on its facade, expressing commitment to the arts. The building was designed by Richard Lucae.
The building was severely damaged during World War II and only reopened in 1981, now as a concert and congress center. Today, the world’s leading symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists perform here. The building has excellent acoustics, and its three different-sized halls enable a varied program offering.
Its specialty is the magnificent neo-Renaissance interior, decorated with golden ornaments and frescoes. The main hall can accommodate 2,450 people, while the smaller Mozart Hall hosts chamber music programs. The square in front of the building is often the venue for outdoor concerts and cultural events, with particularly lively cultural life in summer.
Main Tower
The Main Tower is Frankfurt’s second tallest skyscraper at 200 meters high and the only tower in the city with an observation deck open to visitors.
The glass-steel structure completed in 1999 houses the headquarters of Commerzbank and Helaba Bank, but its 56th floor features a public observation deck for tourists. The building was designed by Norman Foster and Arata Isozaki.
From the tower, there is a 360-degree panorama of Frankfurt’s city center, the Main River, and in good visibility conditions, you can see as far as the Taunus Mountains. The view is particularly stunning at sunset. In the evening, special LED lighting makes the tower visible, making it a defining element of Frankfurt’s nightscape.
Hauptwache
One of Frankfurt’s most famous squares and meeting points, located in the heart of the city center.
It gets its name from the baroque-style building standing here, which was built around 1730 as a guard center and later used as a prison and military building. Today it houses a café, offering a unique blend of historical atmosphere and modern city life.
The Hauptwache area is one of Frankfurt’s busiest transportation hubs: it houses one of the city’s largest metro and S-Bahn stations, connecting different city districts and the airport.
Zeil Shopping Street
Frankfurt’s main street and one of Germany’s most densely visited shopping streets, attracting approximately 13 million shoppers annually.
The 1.2-kilometer-long pedestrian zone runs from Hauptwache Square to Konstablerwache and is considered the city’s commercial heart. The street’s name refers to the area adjacent to the medieval city wall, where the city’s defense system once ran.
Along the Zeil is the MyZeil shopping center with its futuristic glass facade and spiral architecture. The building complex houses more than 100 shops, restaurants, and services.
The street’s specialty is the Katharinenkirche, a 14th-century Gothic church that maintains its historical atmosphere amid the modern shopping crowds. The Zeil area remains lively in the evening, with numerous restaurants, cafés, and entertainment venues operating here.
Iron Bridge (Eiserner Steg)
One of Frankfurt’s most romantic locations is the pedestrian bridge built in 1869, which connects the city center with the Sachsenhausen district across the Main River.
The 170-meter-long iron structure is a masterpiece of 19th-century industrial architecture and one of the city’s most iconic buildings. Originally called Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke, but the popular name stuck. Its specialty is the thousands of „love locks” attached by loving couples, which has become a European tradition.
From the middle of the bridge, there is a beautiful view of Frankfurt’s city center and the cathedral, especially at sunset. Besides its historical significance, it also has a practical transportation function: it’s the easiest passage between Römerberg Square and the Sachsenhausen museum district.
Palmengarten
Frankfurt’s largest botanical garden opened in 1871 and spans 22 hectares.
The institution, renowned among European botanical gardens, preserves more than 13,000 different plant species, many of which are of tropical and subtropical origin. The garden’s creator was landscape architect Heinrich Siesmayer, who learned the profession from the designer of Vienna’s Schönbrunn garden.
At the heart of the garden is the Tropicarium, an impressive glass palace complex that imitates different climate zones. The Tropicarium consists of several pavilions: it houses the palm house, cactus house, as well as tropical rainforest and desert plant houses. The outdoor sections feature a rose garden, Japanese garden, and medicinal plant garden.
The garden is open year-round but offers its most spectacular experience in spring and summer when outdoor plants are in bloom. In summer, outdoor concerts are held at the stage located in the central part of the garden.
Zoo
Opened in 1858, it is Germany’s second oldest zoo institution. More than 4,500 animals from 450 different species live on the 11-hectare area, including many endangered species.
The institution’s most interesting part is the Exotarium, a three-story building that houses aquatic and terrestrial animals. It contains one of Europe’s largest aquarium collections, where sharks, rays, and numerous tropical fish can be seen. The Crocodile Hall houses Nile crocodiles and giant tortoises, while the Gila Hall presents the world of reptiles and amphibians.
The zoo’s pride is the ape house, where multi-generational families of great apes can be observed in natural environments. The penguin house imitates Antarctic environment, where visitors can observe penguins’ underwater movement through glass-walled tunnels.
All information can be found here!
Best museums in Frankfurt
Städel Museum
It belongs to Germany’s most significant art museums, which opened in 1815 from banker Johann Friedrich Städel’s foundation donation.
The museum’s collection encompasses 700 years of European painting from the Middle Ages to the present day, including numerous world-class masterpieces. The building itself is a monument: built in 1878 in neo-Renaissance style.
The core of the collection consists of works by German and Flemish old masters, including works by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, and Lucas Cranach. The museum’s impressionist section is outstanding: it displays paintings by Renoir, Monet, Degas, and Cézanne. The modern collection preserves works by Picasso, Max Beckmann, and Francis Bacon.
The museum’s specialty is the underground contemporary wing opened in 2012, which presents 21st-century art in galleries lit with natural light. The Städel Garden, a garden created on the building’s roof, offers a unique art experience.
All information can be found here!
Goethe House
Frankfurt’s most important literary memorial site, where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749, and spent his childhood and youth.
The four-story bourgeois house at Grosser Hirschgraben 23 is a typical example of an 18th-century Frankfurt patrician residence, which can be visited with the poet’s family’s original furniture and objects.
On the ground floor of the house is the family’s business office and kitchen, where the original tiled stove and old kitchen utensils can be seen. The first floor houses the representative salons, where young Goethe often met with literary and artistic personalities. On the second floor is Goethe’s room, where he wrote parts of „Götz von Berlichingen” and „The Sorrows of Young Werther”.
On the third floor operates a puppet theater, where child Goethe organized his own puppet shows, which later influenced his literary work. The Goethe Museum belonging to the house presents the poet’s life work and era, as well as preserves 18th-19th century paintings and documents.
All information can be found here!
Senckenberg Natural History Museum
Germany’s second largest natural history museum, which opened in 1907 and has one of the world’s most significant paleontological collections.
The museum’s founder was physician and naturalist Johann Christian Senckenberg, who began building his natural science collection in the 18th century. The institution is particularly famous for its dinosaur collection and anthropological section.
Its greatest pride is the dinosaur hall, where original fossils and reconstructions can be seen. It houses a copy of the world’s largest Triceratops skeleton, as well as ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus remains tens of millions of years old. The section presenting the evolutionary development of mammals particularly details the development history of early humans with a copy of Lucy’s skeleton.
The museum’s geological collection preserves thousands of minerals, meteorite fragments, and semi-precious stones, including one of the largest meteor pieces found on Earth. The biodiversity section presents the wildlife of different continents in lifelike dioramas. In the interactive sections, visitors can personally study fossils and minerals.
All information can be found here!
Historical Museum
The institution presenting the city’s past and present opened its doors in 2017 in completely renovated form on Römerberg Square.
The museum building combines the historical environment with modern architectural solutions: the new wing’s glass-concrete structure contrasts with the medieval urban environment. The institution presents the history of Frankfurt from Roman times to the present day.
Its permanent exhibition titled „Frankfurt einst?” (Frankfurt Once Upon a Time?) processes the city’s development in chronological order. Medieval finds, guild objects, documents from the free imperial city era, and memories of 19th-20th century industrialization can be seen here. A separate section deals with the history of Frankfurt becoming a financial center and the formation of the modern banking sector.
The museum’s specialty is the Schneekugel (snow globe) collection, which consists of several thousand pieces and is the world’s largest such collection.
All information can be found here!
Frankfurt weather: when is the best time to visit?
Frankfurt’s climate is temperate continental, characterized by four seasons and relatively even precipitation distribution. The city lies in the protected valley of the Rhine region, resulting in milder weather conditions compared to other parts of the country.
Spring (March-May):
Spring gradually warms up, with daytime temperatures around 10-15°C expected from mid-March. April-May are often characterized by rainy weather, but nature’s awakening offers particularly beautiful sights in the Palmengarten botanical garden and city parks. This period is ideal for museum visits and city walks.
Summer (June-August):
During summer months, temperatures range between 20-25°C, but values above 30°C are not uncommon. July-August are the warmest, when afternoon downpours are frequent. Summer is an excellent time for outdoor programs, walks along the Main, and city festivals. Outdoor concerts in front of the Alte Oper are particularly popular.
Autumn (September-November):
Autumn often begins with long-lasting, sunny periods in September, when temperatures around 18-22°C can still be expected. October is already cooler, and in November, fog and drizzling rain are frequent. Autumn colors in city parks and the Palmengarten garden are particularly beautiful.
Winter (December-February):
Winter months are cool, with daytime temperatures between 2-8°C. Snow is not very frequent but does occur, especially in January-February. December is particularly atmospheric due to the world-famous Frankfurt Christmas market, which welcomes visitors on Römerberg Square.
Best time to travel:
The most ideal period for visiting Frankfurt is from late April to early October, when the weather is most pleasant and most outdoor programs are available. May-June and September are particularly recommended because temperatures are pleasant (18-23°C), there is less precipitation, and tourist crowds are also smaller. December is also a popular period due to the Christmas market, although the weather can be cool and often rainy. Summer months (July-August), while warm, can sometimes be too hot for sightseeing, plus this is peak season when accommodation prices are also higher.